Formulas are powerful tools for performing calculations and analyzing data in Excel. In this beginner’s guide, you’ll learn how to use formulas and explore some popular built-in functions.

Excel’s XLOOKUP() function is available in Microsoft 365 and Excel 2021, and Excel for the web. For your convenience, you can download the demonstration .xlsx files .

Most Microsoft Excel functions are autonomous—one result value for each function or formula. For example, you might use SUM() to return the sum of all the values in a single column.